I love to play basketball, but, unfortunately, I'm getting tired of playing the pick-up variety. Each gym or court has its own culture: there are always slight nuances to the rules in each venue (for instance, each court has it's own rules about the point total that ends a game: 11, 15, 21, etc.). An unspoken rule at one of the gyms I play at is that there are "no easy buckets". Essentially, this means that I get fouled nearly every time I touch the ball. And it's not just me: anyone who dares to get close to the basket gets fouled. Shooting free throws would completely solve the problem, but that's not a practice typically done in pick-up games. And it's killing the integrity of the game. And I hate it.

Then again, maybe I'm just a whiner who doesn't like leaving every week with a sore neck and elbow-sized bruises.